


花言葉[HanaKotoba]

by jei



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Flowers, Language of Flowers, M/M, Tumblr, according to flowering seasons, according to japanese flower language, flower shop au, slightly mentioned Hinata, winter to winter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-29
Updated: 2015-12-02
Packaged: 2018-05-04 00:39:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5313365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jei/pseuds/jei
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Do you speak flower?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Do you speak?

**Author's Note:**

> v.v. IMPT: This fic is according to JAPANESE flower language and NOT Western flower Language (yes, they are different). My sources are from the Internet so I tried to be as accurate as I could be (specific websites linked at the end)
> 
> Also, flowers in this fic appear according to seasons. Again, my sources are from the Internet. I followed the generic uk flowering seasons when I couldn't find the flowering seasons in Japan. 
> 
> Also, this was based off an [au](http://iwaoiheadcanons.tumblr.com/search/flower+shop) I found on Tumblr, thanks for letting me use it! (03-)/~<3
> 
> Enjoy!

Oikawa is late.

Well blame it on his poor sense of direction, not everyone can be perfect so he has to give up his direction sense, right? After all, he could just charm the shop owners into forgiving him. 

_Just around the corner._

He turns and finds the flower shop that Hinata had told him about. Just a part-time job to kill time during the holidays, besides, he could do with some pocket money. He enters the shop to find that it is filled with light. The sliding doors are mainly glass, allowing as much light as possible to enter the shop. It is rather clean and neat, refreshing, almost.

"Excuse me? I'm Oikawa Tooru, here as the part-timer. Sorry I was late, I got a little lost." He says as he steps into the shop.

"Oh my, you're here, wonderful! It's alright, dear," a woman steps out behind the counter from a door, wiping her hands on her apron, without even glancing at Oikawa. "You seem a fine young man, we'll need much of your help around. New Year's is coming with all orders flooding in and everything! Things would be getting busy!" An older man appears, briefly nodding at him. _Ah, they should be charmed by my stunning looks already._

Oikawa flashes a perfect smile, "It's not much, I'm glad that I could-"

"He must be some idiot to get lost around here."

Oikawa whirls around, shooting glares at the insufferable toad, whoever he was who dared insult him. "It's not my fault that the streets here are so straight! Do you even know who I am? How dare you-"

His words die on his tongue.

He'd never expect  _Iwaizumi_ to be here. Iwaizumi Hajime, more like his crush-slash-eye-candy since the day he set foot in the university campus. He'd assumed that they would never talk, since they were in different courses. 

_Ah, so that's why Hinata was smiling so much when he told him about the job._

A smile spreads across his face instantaneously. He collects himself immediately.

"Sorry, I'm Oikawa Tooru. You should know of me around the school campus. I'm pretty well-known, yeah?" Oikawa follows up with a wink.

He expects some reaction of familiarity or understanding but is instead met with a confused frown.

"No, actually." Iwaizumi raises an eyebrow. "I don't think I've seen you around. I'm Iwaizumi Hajime, by the way. I'll be helping around and teaching you the basic stuff you need to know." Oikawa is positively devsted, or rather, shocked. But then Iwaizumi glances to the side and his hand brushes through his hair.

Oikawa is too caught up staring at Iwaizumi's biceps evident through the thin sweater to even be reminded of his loss. 

_I knew I liked him for a reason_


	2. First Bouquet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> /carnations/pansies/amaryllis/

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> /fascination/care/shyness/

It is a secret but Oikawa is an absolute  _shoujo_ when it comes flower language. He has studied it, browsing through books at the library and learnt all their meanings by heart. Working at the flower shop is a dream, being with Iwaizumi, however, still feels absolutely surreal.

The stoic man almost has no facial expressions (despite his dashing face), except for the irritated glance when Oikawa does something stupid (like touching the cactus too much and pricking his finger) and when Oikawa calls him "Iwa-chan"."You aren't doing too bad, I expected worse.""Iwa-chan, how mean! I can handle things as pretty as me, you know!"He genuinely enjoys the time that he spends with Iwaizumi. It was basically an excellent opportunity to find out more about Iwaizumi, since he practically saw him everyday(not that he didn't try to back then).He sees many things, like the way Iwaizumi looks among the flowers, or the way his muscles flex whenever he carries the heavy watering cans and the plant pots. There is more. Something about the way Iwaizumi squints to find weeds, and the smile that appears when he receives familiar customers. There is something deeper about Iwaizumi that makes Oikawa's heart tug and pull. He wants to find out more. _Alien nuggets,_ Oikawa realizes. His feelings for Iwaizumi had ballooned into a full blown crush.And Oikawa Tooru knew was a hundred-and-ten-percent screwed.

* * *

  
Time flies. Christmas was coming along with more orders pouring in. Oikawa receives the calls and makes the bouquets, learning from Iwaizumi's mother. He is surprisingly good at it, as commented by Iwaizumi. It was his eye for beauty, he had replied, pouting a little.

Yes, he had been trying his very best to flirt with that numbskull of a man. And it hadn't worked, not even once. Iwaizumi was so dense, not having the slightest idea of whatever Oikawa was trying to do.  
Perhaps there is some genius way that could get Iwaizumi to understand, he thinks, while his hands are deftly threading flower stems in between each other."Oikawa-san, please stop daydreaming! That bouquet is very important, for obaasan who always visits us!""Iwa-chan, I'm doing a perfect job, can't you see?""No, dumbass. You're putting carnations in that bouquet. Do you think it's Mother's Day or something? She doesn't have children you idiot."Oikawa looks down and ah, Iwaizumi was right. He quickly picks out the flowers and fixes his mistakes."Oh my, Iwa-chan, I didn't know you were looking at me so closely the entire time!""That's 'cause you have made nothing but mistakes since you got here'"Oikawa pouts at the carnations lying limp on the table, their meaning briefly flashing across his mind out of habit. Then it hits him: He could give Iwaizumi a bouquet, confessing his love in the prettiest way.   
   
Oikawa cannot wait.On Christmas Eve, he rushes in, cheeks flushed, nose red, hands cold. He would confess to Iwaizumi! And Iwaizumi would understand it! Maybe accept him, or even blush. They could spend christmas together, such a perfect timing for just about the most romantic holiday ever! He sees it clear as day in his head, there was no way this could go wrong.  
   
"Merry Christmas, Iwa-chan!" Oikawa thrusts a bouquet into Iwaizumi's face. He watches eagerly and searching for a look of surprise on Iwaizumi's face, or the realization that would appear, perhaps even traces of a blush.  
   
Iwaizumi just looks puzzled.   
   
"Why would you give me flowers? This is a flower shop, dumbass."  
   
Iwaizumi takes the bouquet, Oikawa feels something shift inside him.   
   
"Thanks, though. These are nice. Interesting combination too." Oikawa is simply stunned. _..He didn't get it?_  
   
Oikawa stares as Iwaizumi puts the flowers in a glass case, on display at the counter. He exhales in defeat and resorts to lying down on the counter, refusing to do anything. He waits for Iwaizumi to chide him, say something, but the day is surprisingly quiet, little customers and not much to do. In the end, Iwaizumi's parents insist that Oikawa end his shift earlier.  
   
Iwaizumi calls him back just as he turns to leave.  
   
"Dumbass, you forgot your christmas present." Iwaizumi hands him a package, awkwardly wrapped though his expression is natural, relaxed even. "You seem to like those a lot so I got this, see you after Christmas."  
   
Oikawa's mood changes 180 degrees. He barely manages to reply with proper thanks, heart fluttering, voice stuttering. He rushes home as quick as he can to unwrap the present.It was a big sweater covered in an alien print. He hugs the sweater to sleep.   
Maybe he could afford to give a few more of those flowers after all, at least until Iwaizumi gets a hint.


	3. Second Bouquet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> /carnations/pansies/red camellias/gardenias/amaryllis/

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fascination/care/love/secret love/shyness/

The new year had started a few weeks ago and Oikawa had decided on using it as an excuse to give another bouquet. There weren't much flowers around this time in the flower shop, mostly plum blossoms, although the camellias were starting to bloom. They tended to the plum blossoms most of the time, with Iwaizumi hefting the huge bundle of branches and Oikawa arranging them in vases. Iwaizumi also trimmed their branches and it was during those times that he sat at the table with Oikawa, sorting through the long stalks. The concentration and thoroughness of Iwaizumi's work always paid off, resulting in elegant arrangements. 

"Iwa-chan, don't you think these flowers look perfect with me?" Oikawa beams, bending down to pose beside the large pile of branches.

"Huh? Don't be stupid. These flowers are noble and graceful, not like you. Don't drag them down to your own level." Iwaizumi replies, without even looking up. 

"Iwa-chan, that's so mean!" 

 _So Iwa-chan does know something about the meaning of flowers,_ Oikawa can't help but find some hope in the new knowledge.  _Then he should understand if someone gave him gardenias, right?_

* * *

He was always fascinated at the amount of patience Iwaizumi had with the flowers. His deft fingers that threaded through the branches to remove the dead parts, carefulness in preventing anything to touch the closed buds. Oikawa finds that he can stare at Iwaizumi tending flowers for a whole day. Also he had this- oh my god.

_Was that a smile?_

There, on the stoic face of Iwaizumi Hajime was the tiniest of smiles, almost a hint of it. A very, very slight uplift of the edges of his lips. But it was there.

Shit, Oikawa thinks. Perhaps it was just infatuation at first, perhaps he simply obsessed with Iwaizumi, confusing those feelings for love. Yet now, deep down Oikawa knew for sure, Iwaizumi in that instant was enough to push him down that cliff, falling for him. The thought makes Oikawa blush, so much that he cannot think straight for five minutes, pulse ringing through his ears. He spends the rest of the day burying his face in a thousand plum blossom stalks.

* * *

"Iwa-chan, look what I got for you! Happy New Year's!"

"New Year's was about a month ago, dumbass. This is a flower shop, in case you didn't realise."

"BUT we don't have some of theeseee."

"They're coming in next week, dumbass."

"Iwa-chan! So mean!"

"I'll stop when you stop calling me that."

Oikawa spends the rest of the day pouting.

 

_Ah, that idiot probably won't ever get it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> about gardenias: you send them when you secretly love someone


	4. Third Bouquet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> /pansies/red camellias/yellow camellias/gardenias/

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> /caring/love/longing/shyness/

Oikawa has given up on getting Iwaizumi to take a hint. It seems that no matter what he does, the blockhead just won't seem to understand. He has resorted to burying himself in more work, surrounding himself with more flowers in hopes of distracting himself and avoiding his oh-so-stro f feelings. It works at first. Oikawa doesn't even pause to look up to greet Iwaizumi, firmly keeping his head down in the flowers. He is disciplined, concentrated and focused. He convinces himself that he can stare at the flowers all day if he wanted to or the leaves, though the latter does admittedly make him feel like an idiot.

Yet, somewhere along the lines of distracting himself, every flower seemed to remind him of Iwaizumi more and more.

The thing is, once you accept and admit that you have feelings for someone, you become oh-so-very aware of yourself and your feelings. You become very very conscious of such things which is exactly why suppressing wouldn't work. You can't lie to yourself once you have faced the truth.

True enough it reached the point where Oikawa could hardly handle a flower without thinking of the way Iwaizumi tended to it, what expression Iwaizumi wore when he was working...Oikawa decides that he needs a break. He takes a few days off and tries to spend some time at home.  _It's probably burn-out._ A break is all he needs and he would be just fine. He just needs some time to breath. This crush would eventually wear off and he would be back to his old self. Besides, Iwa-chan didn't even like him, it just made things easier for him. All he had to do was sort things out on his side, a few flings and flirting would get him back, right?

A few days after, Oikawa has flirted with a few hundred imaginary Iwa-chans, came up with ten cheesy pick-up lines about flowers and florists and obtained nothing but a perpetual blush on his cheeks. He has doneeverything he can and it is absolutely stupid, and absolutely embarrassing. It is as if he has demented himself, wired his brain to think of Iwaizumi twenty-four seven rather than not at all. After an internal struggle for a few days, Oikawa decides to go back. His holiday had proved fruitless, producing the opposite of what he intended. Constricting and bottling up his feelings did not get rid of them. It just made them overflow out of him.

Like right now.

The moment Oikawa steps in the flower shop, he sees Iwaizumi and with a (terrible) cry of "Iwa-chan!", he envelopes Iwaizumi in a tight hug (legs off the ground and all)((He's taller than Iwa-chan)).

"Dumbass! Get off me!"

"Just a little longer, please!"  
Iwaizumi rips Oikawa off (with those muscular arms of his) and Oikawa pouts.

"Guess what I was doing during my break! I made you this!"  
Oikawa produces the bouquet dramatically, confetti flying in the air.  
"How many times do I need to tell you that this is a flower shop, you numbskull. Also, clean up the confetti later." Iwaizumi sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. He takes the bouquet nonetheless.

Oikawa picks up the broom and begins to sweep the area. He had already hugged Iwaizumi so there was nothing more that he could ask for.

"You put in the yellow ones?" Iwaizumi had noticed. Oikawa looks up for a moment. "Yeah, I did."  
"Ah, I get it. They were the last batch that were blooming weren't they? Ah, these are really pretty."

"...I guess I'll put them in when their in season again," Oikawa replies. "Seeing how much you like them of course, Iwa-chan."

"Shut up, I'm just saying that these are quite rare now, considering how late it is and all.." Iwaizumi averts his gaze and turns his head, as if...

...And Oikawa feels like a hundred butterflies had taken flight inside. Perhaps it was worth it after all, to battle his feelings for Iwaizumi and lose, terribly.

**Author's Note:**

> Sources for hanakotoba: This is the [wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanakotoba) one,  
> here's [another](http://www.thelanguagejournal.com/2012/10/hanakotoba-japanese-secret-language_18.html),  
> and [another](http://www.flowershopnetwork.com/blog/hanakotoba-japanese-flowers/)
> 
> and this is [one](http://www.theflowerexpert.com/content/growingflowers/flowers-and-seasons) out of many for seasons
> 
> I wanted to go make everything accurate and precise and shits thus the overwhelming amount of research. Some of you would definitely appreciate a lot it if it were accurate (ahem, peeps like me weww) so I did it to help you sleep better at night. Feel free to correct some minor mistakes (those that don't interfere with the plot like the seasons or slightly incorrect meaning because some flowers do have a few, I am aware). But if it screws the story up and destroys the plot because it like totally does not flower in that season or something like that, please please please don't let the rest know. (JK, just do what you please).Also, PLEASE comment and tell me what a special snowflake I am. That is all.


End file.
